The Playboy Mansion in 1975 was the scene of Bill Cosby’s sexual assault of a 16-year-old female, according to the jury in a civil trial on Tuesday.
Judy Huth, now 64 years old, received a $500,000 decision in her favor from the Los Angeles County jury. She said that more important than the amount of money awarded to her or the denial of punitive damages was the fact that the jury had accepted her account.
Huth described the seven-year court battle as “torture.” “To be pulled apart, you know, backed over, and put under the bus. This is a huge triumph for me.”
The jury determined that Cosby had sexual contact with Huth with the intent to hurt her, that he had a reasonable belief that she was underage and that his actions were motivated by an irrational or pathological sexual interest in a minor.
The jury’s verdict is a significant legal setback for the 84-year-old musician who was once revered as America’s father. It comes over a year after his Pennsylvania criminal sexual assault conviction was overturned and he was set free. After his insurance resolved several other cases against his wishes, Huth’s lawsuit was one of the final outstanding legal claims against him.
Cosby did not appear at the trial or give a direct testimony, but jurors were shown brief excerpts from his 2015 video deposition in which he categorically denied having sex with Huth. Through his lawyer and publicist, he continues to refute the accusation.
The defense prevailed, according to Cosby spokesperson Andrew Wyatt, since Huth did not get punitive damages. Wyatt announced that the case will be appealed.
After two days of deliberations, on Friday, the jury had already reached verdicts on almost all of the questions on their verdict form, including whether Cosby had mistreated Huth and if she was entitled to damages. Due to a personal obligation, the jury foreperson was unable to continue serving, thus the panel had to reopen the case on Monday and select a new juror.
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Cosby’s lawyers concurred that he first met Huth and her high school buddy in April 1975 while working on a Southern California movie set and that he later drove them to the Playboy Mansion.
A crucial witness, Donna Samuelson, a friend of Huth, shot pictures at the Huth and Cosby residence, which predominated the trial.
Huth testified that Cosby tried to put his hand down her trousers in a bedroom next to a gaming room where the three had been hanging out before exposing himself and compelling her to engage in sex acts.
Huth filed her case against Cosby in 2014. She said that the birth of her son in 2014, who is now 15 years old, and a flurry of other women accusing Cosby of similar activities caused her to revisit the trauma she had experienced as a child.
During closing arguments on Wednesday, Nathan Goldberg, Huth’s attorney, said that Huth “deserves to have Mr. Cosby held accountable for what he did” to the jury of nine women and three men.
Every single one of you is aware that Mr. Cosby molested Miss Huth, Goldberg added.
Huth won the case after nearly eight years and several obstacles, with at least nine of the 12 jurors siding with them.
Jennifer Bonjean, a lawyer for Bill Cosby, repeatedly questioned Huth and Samuelson during their evidence, pointing out inaccuracies in their tales and a resemblance in their claims that she said indicated collaboration between the two women.
This includes the ladies claiming that Samuelson had played Donkey Kong that day, despite the game not being published for six years, in pre-trial depositions and police interviews.
In what became known as the “Donkey Kong defense,” Bonjean made much of this.
To focus on the important concerns at the heart of the claims, Goldberg urged the jury to look past the little details that were unavoidable in accounts that were 45 years old. He reminded jurors that when Samuelson initially mentioned it in her deposition, she stated “games like Donkey Kong.”
It’s on like Donkey Kong, the Cosby attorney said at the start of her closing remarks, and “game over” at the conclusion.
During his argument, Huth’s attorney displayed indignation.
He slammed the podium, yelling, “This is about justice!” “Game over is not necessary! Justice is required!
Unless they come out publicly like Huth did, The Associated Press typically does not name anyone who claims to have been sexually abused.
A group of four women who claimed to speak for several victims of Cosby’s sexual assault welcomed the decision outside the court.
In the Pennsylvania case, Chelan Lasha, who testified against Cosby, was in tears. When she was 17 years old, she claimed that he drugged and physically abused her in the Elvis Presley suite of the Las Vegas Hilton.
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He’s a deviant, a sexual predator, and a boogeyman, according to Lasha. “He is awful. It’s yet another triumph. I came over to support Judy here. Judy is someone I admire. I’m pleased with the result.
